Shridhir Sariputta Hansa "Hans" Wijayasuriya (born April 2, 1955), a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n telecommunications business executive, is the Group Executive Vice President &

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Telecommunications Business of the Axiata Group Bhd., Asia’s second-largest telecommunications company. Until 2016, he was also the group chief executive of

Dialog Axiata Dialog Axiata PLC ( si, ඩයලොග් ආසිආටා පීඑල්සී, Ḍayalog Āsiāṭā PīElSī, ta, டயலொக் ஆசியாடா பிஎல்சி) (formerly known as MTN Networks and later Dialog Telekom), i ...

PLC, Sri Lanka’s largest mobile communications provider. During the period 2012-14, He was founder CEO of Axiata Digital Services, the pan-region Digital Services arm of the Axiata Group. In June 2016, the

GSM Association The GSM Association (commonly referred to as 'the GSMA' or ''Global System for Mobile Communications'', originally ''Groupe Spécial Mobile'') is an industry organisation that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide. More ...

(the trade group for the mobile industry), gave him an award. Hans was also named "Sri Lankan of the Year" in 2008, by a local business journal, LMD.

Early life and education

Born to P. M. W. Wijayasuriya, a former

auditor general An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations. Freq ...

of Sri Lanka and Susila Wijayasuriya, a painter, Hans was educated at

S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia , motto_translation = Be Thou Forever , song = Thomian Song , athletics = Yes , sports = Yes , nickname = Thora , denomination = Anglican , patron ...

, Sri Lanka. He graduated from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1989 with a degree in electrical and electronic engineering. He later obtained his PhD in Digital Mobile Communications from the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

in 1994. A

Chartered Engineer Regulation and licensure in engineering is established by various jurisdictions of the world to encourage life, public welfare, safety, well-being, then environment and other interests of the general public and to define the licensure process thro ...

and

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the Institution of Engineering Technology UK, Wijayasuriya also holds an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

UK.

Career

Hans joined

, the fourth entrant to Sri Lanka’s mobile market as a member of the founding management team in 1994. He became chief executive in 1997. Dialog is today one of Asia’s most advanced Quad Play connectivity and Digital Services providers. Hans went on to become the CEO for South Asia of the Axiata Group in 2016, and in 2020 was named Group Executive Vice President & CEO for Telecommunications Business responsible for the Telecommunications Businesses of the Axiata Group across the markets of Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. Hans serves as a director of several Axiata Group Companies in the region and is also the chairman of the

Ceylon Chamber of Commerce The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is the oldest and one of leading business chambers in Sri Lanka. It is a confederation of trade associations, regional- and sectoral chambers of commerce and industry, business councils and employer organisations in ...

and a member of the board of directors of John Keells Holdings PLC. Hans is a past Chairman of GSM Asia-Pacific – the Regional interest group of the GSM Association and has been included in the GSM 100 Role of Honour for his contribution to the Asia-Pacific Telecommunication industry. In 2016, the GSM Association named Hans as the first recipient of the “Outstanding Contribution to the Asian Mobile Industry” Award. A past chairman of the

Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies (ACCIMT) ( si, italic=yes, නවීන තාක්ෂණය පිළිබඳ ආතර් සී. ක්ලාක් මධ්‍යස්ථානය ''Navina Takshanaya Pilibanda Athar Si. ...

, Hans has also served on the Boards of the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka and the

Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology The Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා තොරතුරු තා‌ක්ෂණ ආයතනය; ta, இலங்கை தகவல் தொழில்நுட்ப நிறுவனம� ...

(SLIIT). Hans has published on the subject of digital mobile communications (S.S.H Wijayasuriya et al.), including research papers in publications of the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...

(IEEE) USA, Royal Society and the Institute of Electrical Engineers (IEE) UK. He has also presented papers at several International conferences on digital mobile communications.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wijayasuriya, Hans Living people Sinhalese engineers Sri Lankan chief executives 1955 births Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia